Shelter for Schools2026-09-14T17:26:49+12:00

shelter for schools

Safe and effective outdoor shade solutions for all schools.

Schools come to Shade Systems for three kinds of shelter: shade sails for schools that cover a courtyard or play space and can come down over winter, covered walkways that keep students dry between buildings, and COLA Canopies that turn a full court into a covered outdoor learning area used every day of the year. All three are designed and made in New Zealand, engineered for your wind zone and installed by our own team, with council consent and Ministry of Education requirements handled as part of the project.

shade sails for schools

A school shade sail is the quickest way to put shade over a play area, courtyard or eating space. Our school sails use heavy-duty HDPE shade cloth on galvanised steel poles with marine-grade fixings, block up to 95% of UV and are engineered for your site’s wind zone. Sails can be taken down and stored over winter to extend their life, or left up year round.

Sails suit schools that need shade rather than rain cover, or that want to cover several smaller areas rather than one large one. Where a school needs a dry, all-weather space for assemblies and sport, a COLA Canopy is the better fit; where the problem is getting between buildings, a covered walkway is. We will tell you which one your site needs, and it is often a mix. Every sail comes with our product warranty and the option of an annual check and re-tension through our Aftercare team.

key features.

Robust Product Warranty: We stand by our products and offer the best warranties on all materials. We use marine-grade fixings & poles, heavy-duty HDPE fabric, robust webbing tape & PTFE thread for ultimate strength and durability.

Fast Turnaround. We manufacture everything in New Zealand and hold large amounts of stock, so you won’t be caught out by unexpected delays, and we provide solid project deadlines.

Ministry of Education: We offer outdoor shade and shelter solutions specifically designed for educational environments. We consider your space, challenges, and all Ministry of Education requirements to ensure our shade structures fit your exact needs and comply with Ministry of Education standards (AS/NZS 4256.3:1994).

Cover any size! Complete custom solutions for your outdoor areas, if you require a Covered Outdoor Learning Area or shade sails that can be taken down seasonally, we provide shelter solutions for any space.

Wide range of colours and fabrics. Design your shade structures to fit your aesthetic and to keep on brand with your school’s identity.

100 % turn-key solution. We take care of the design, council consents, manufacture, installation, maintenance and more with our experienced in-house, NZ-based team.

REASONS TO WORK WITH US

school shade solutions.

Cola Canopy®

Shade Sails

Sola Gola

Tensile Membrane

Hip Roof

Star Shade®

testimonial.

For us the shade structure is really important, we are a growing school, 600 kids now, and we have limited shade here and our school hall is not big enough to hold a full school assembly so for us it’s a twofold space, an outdoor space in summer, and in winter we can also be under here when it’s raining.

Testimonial by,

Stanhope Road School
Principal Zane Wilson

VIEW FULL PROJECT

completed educational projects.

Ruakaka Playground
Pigeon Mountain School
Tauranga Adventist School

get in touch.

Contact our Shade Specialists today to request a site visit or discuss your requirements. We work with various education, governmental, and commercial partners to produce premium shade and shelter structures across New Zealand and around the globe. Furthermore, we aim to help make outdoor spaces enjoyed by the public more sun safe and weatherproof!